Pacers, Celtics dismantle foes
Myles Turner scored 24 points as the Indiana Pacers snapped the Oklahoma City Thunder’s three-game winning streak with a 121-111 victory on the road on Tuesday.
Turner led a balanced offensive effort for Indiana that saw six players post double-digit points tallies against the Western Conference-leading Thunder.
“We got off to a great start and we were able to lock in. It was a team effort,” said Turner, adding that Indiana had reveled in the intimidating atmosphere at Oklahoma City’s 18,000-seat Paycom Center.
“It’s one of the loudest places to play historically,” Turner said. “It’s a hostile environment, a playoff-like atmosphere. But we enjoy that.”
The Pacers shrugged off a fiercely partisan Oklahoma City crowd to take control early on, opening up a 16-point lead near the end of the first half.
Although the Thunder rallied with a 41-point third quarter to take a fleeting one-point lead, Indiana regrouped to pull away again and close out victory.
Turner was backed with 18 points and nine assists from Tyrese Haliburton while Pascal Siakam added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the visitors.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder scorers with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Indiana improved to 37-29 to move into sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Focal point
Oklahoma City’s defeat leaves them level on 45-20 with the Denver Nuggets at the top of the Western Conference.
The Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics shrugged off the absence of Kristaps Porzingis, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford to wrap up their grueling West Coast road trip with an emphatic 123-107 win over the Utah Jazz.
Jayson Tatum was once again the focal point of the Celtics offense, finishing with 38 points from 13-of-25 shooting as Boston swept to their 51st win of the season.
Utah led briefly early in the first quarter but were ultimately dominated by the shorthanded Boston lineup.
Derrick White backed Tatum with 24 points while four other Boston players finished in double figures.
“The fact that the last couple of games everybody is stepping up—it’s just what we’re trying to build. A culture, an environment in the locker room where it doesn’t matter who’s in, everybody is ready to play at any time,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. —AFP
